Ukraine Legalizes Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Ukraine Adopts Crypto Law
On Thursday, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favor of a Virtual Assets Bill that grants legal status to all cryptocurrencies. The bill received 300 votes in its favor and only two votes against it.
This was confirmed by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister, who is also serving as the nation's Minister of Digital Transformation.
"Ukraine is already in top-5 countries on cryptocurrency usage. Today we made one more step forward: Parliament adopted law on virtual assets! This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud," Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted.
The bill classifies all cryptocurrencies as 'virtual assets', however, it cannot be used as a payment instrument or traded for other assets, products, or services.
The bill further specifies that crypto service providers must abide by the rules and regulations set by the bill. Any violation of such regulations will incur significant fines. The bill also details that the National Securities Commission will regulate the Ukrainian crypto market.
Ukraine Legalizes Crypto Few Days After Russia
The announcement came just days after Russia declared crypto as a legal currency in the country. Currently, Russians are holding over $200 Billion worth of crypto with an estimated revenue opportunity of $13 Billion in crypto taxes per year.
Meanwhile, the yearly crypto transaction volumes in Ukraine is estimated to be around $8 Billion. The country is also 4th in terms of the global crypto adoption index, according to Chainalysis.
At the same time, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic recently reported that cryptocurrencies have been used extensively for funding Ukraine's war preparations along the border. In fact, several Ukrainian NGOs and volunteer groups have accepted donations in digital assets to fund war efforts.